Bergen drummer died while marching in parade

A member of The Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County collapsed and died just after noon today while marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Steve Dunne, 59 and a tenor drummer, had marched from 41st Street to about 75th Street before collapsing, said witnesses at the parade.

The group was leading the historic "Fighting 69th" up Fifth Avenue when Dunne collapsed.

"He collapsed and a couple of officers in the band administered CPR and the NYPD came over and assisted," said drum sergeant Jim McMorrow. "The response from the police, fire department was excellent. This is a tremendous loss of a brother officer."

Dunne was pronounced dead at St. Luke’s Hospital at 12:36 p.m., hospital officials said. He died of an apparent heart attack, said a spokesman for the NYPD.

The band then took a bus to the New York City Armory on Lexington between 26th and 27th streets, where it finished its performance.

Dunne, a 6-foot 2 retired New York City court officer from the Bronx, was unmarried with no kids. He was a founding member of the group and initially played bass drum then tenor drum, McMorrow said.

"We lost a brother in our band," said McMorrow. "The reason we finished today was him and his honor. It’s a tragic loss. He would have wanted us to finish this."

The Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County began with police officers from all over Bergen County forming the band in 1992, which played nationally, in Ireland, and at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

"He was our very first bass drummer then one of our tenor drummers," McMorrow said. "He lived in the Bronx, but had buddies here in Jersey. Law enforcement between the two states is close."

McMorrow praised everyone who worked on Dunne to save his life.

"People are going to remember Stevie for the way he lived," said band secretary Billy Gravius. "He was a stand up guy and always cared about the band, his family and friends. He was an old school Irish cop. If you were smart enough to listen to him, you learned a lot."

AMY NEWMAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The band finished marching in Dunne's honor. "He would have wanted us to finish this," one fellow band member said.